There was a change to the sailing instructions announced on the 0900 morning broadcast to the ARC Europe boats as they prepared for departure from Santa Maria. The change was that the Committee Vessel would no longer be the marina RIB but instead the 85mts Portuguese Navy Ship 'João Roby' F487. The ship had been in port in Angra do Heroismo and again here in Vila do Porto and Captain António Mourinha was happy to offer their services and drop anchor at one end of the start line before heading out to sea to complete some firing practice.
It certainly made for a great spectacle for the boats on the water and made a good vantage point from which to countdown to the start.
Yesterday evening crews were treated to a great farewell party at the Clube Naval in Vila do Porto, with a BBQ supper served on the terrace of the Clube. Sangrias and live music from a local band 'Ronda da Madrugada' kept the evening festive and drew to a close the Azores Cruise part of ARC Europe. With more time allowed to explore these islands in the middle of the north Atlantic crews have enjoyed visiting Horta in Faial, Angra do Heroismo in Terceira, Ponta Delgada in Sao Miguel and Vila do Porto in Santa Maria. Each island very different to one another but equally as charming and equally full of the friendliest people with plenty of aloha. All of the crews are now good ambassadors for the Azores and will have already been recommending it as a destination to visit, and many themselves hope to return soon. In fact some of the rally yachts have decided to retire from the rally and stay here for several weeks and soak up some time on the islands.
The sunny island of Santa Maria lived up to its reputation this morning and there was just enough of a NW wind to send the 20 yachts on their way along the south coast of the island towards Lagos. First across the line was Zingara, closely followed by Asahi and Tara.
The 820 mile passage should take the yachts around 5-6 days, there are light winds forecast for the first day or two and boats will put in a little north to their course so to have a better angle when approaching the Portuguese Trades. These are the northerly winds that come down the Portuguese coast, which combined with the southerly current will push boats to the south. With a busy Traffic Seperation Scheme (TSS) off Cape St. Vincent this last Leg of ARC Europe comes with its own challenges.
